Disposable, one-use toothbrush



March 31, 1959 C. D. WARD DISPOSABLE, ONE-USE TOOTHBRUSH Filed March 29,1955 INVENTOR. CHARLES D- WARD AIM.

ATTOKNEY.

2,879,533 DISPOSABLE, ONE-USE TOOTHBRUSH Charles D. Ward, Indianapolis,Ind. Application March 29, 1955, Serial No. 497,650 1 Claim. o1. 15-167)This invention relates ticularly, to. a disposable be used only once.

The unsanitary practice of brushing ones teeth more than once. .with thesame toothbrush has occasioned the need in the art for a toothbrushwhich is adapted for a single use. In order eltectivelyto accomplishthis single-use adaptability, toothbrushes have heretofore been proposedwhich either were not capable of being so economically produced thattheir cost would not be prohibitive or were not capable of efiicientlycleaning the teeth. Furthermore, one-use toothbrushes heretoforeproposed have not been readily disposable so as to obviate theunsanitary as well as unsightly practice of discarding the usedtoothbrush in a waste-basket or other receptacle in the washroom.

Accordingly, one of the objects of my invention is to provide adisposable, one-use toothbrush which can be so economically producedthat limiting its use to a single brushing would not render the expenseprohibitive to the general public.

Another object of my invention is to provide a readily disposabletoothbrush head which is highly efiicient in cleaning the teeth.

Another object of my invention is to provide a disposable toothbrushwhich may be discarded into a toilet and after becoming sufiicientlysaturated with water, will become substantially disintegrated so as notto clog the toilet when flushed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a disposable, one-usetoothbrush which is sanitary and dependable in use.

Further objects will become tion proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that change may be made in the specificconstructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of theappended claim is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a top view of my improved disposable toothbrush showing oneform of brush head;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing another form of brush head;

Fig. 3 is likewise a similar view showing still another form of brushhead;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the toothbrush shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of apartially folded length of the strip material which forms a part of thehead of the toothbrush, this view clearly illustrating the manner inwhich the bristles are embedded in the strip.

Referring to the drawing, handle member 10 is formed to a toothbrush,and more partoothbrush which is intended to apparent as the descripthetoothbrush handle;

.of cardboard, fabric or other material which is sutficiently rigid foruse as a toothbrush handle, but which becomes v substantiallydisintegrated after being wetted and sufliciently saturated with water.The characteristics of this material are such that it will maintain itsrigidity for a length of time sufficient to adequately brush ones teeth,and after being discarded into a toilet, will soon absorb a sufficientamount of water to render it soft and disintegrated. can be flushed thetoilet.

Handle member 10 is rigidified by a longitudinal crease or depression 11which is pressed into the handle member, and by bowing the sides 12, 13of the handlemember in the region to be gripped by the users hand. Thehead end of handle member 10 is provided with spaced upstanding sides 14and 15, respectively, which together with the interconnecting bottomportion 16, form a generally U-shaped configuration.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 5, it is apparent that a brushhead 17 is disposed within the confines of the U-shaped configuration.The head '17 is partially formed by a continuous strip water-absorbentmaterial which becomes substantially disintegrated after being wettedand sufliciently saturated with water. This strip material can be paper,thin cardboard, or the like. A plurality of filamentary, waterresistantbristles 19 are embedded at spaced intervals in the strip and projectoutwardly therefrom in the plane of the strip. The bristles 19 can beformed of any suitable material, such as nylon, or they may be naturalbristles.

To form the head 17, a continuous strip of the desired length of stripmaterial 18 with bristles 19 embedded therein is folded back and forthin the manner indicated in Fig. 7, and finally to the shape shown inFig. 1 where the strip material takes the form of a plurality ofside-byside laminations 20. Prior to folding the strip 18, it may beprovided on each flat side with a coating of a water-soluble cement sothat after folding to the shape of Fig. 1, the cement will dry andrigidly hold the laminations 20 securely together. This watersolublecement will serve to hold the laminations together during use of thetoothbrush, but will dissolve thereafter if kept in contact with waterfor a suificient length of time.

A layer of the same kind of water-soluble cement may be applied toeither the formed head or the inner surfaces of the U-shapedconfiguration of handle 10, or both, and the parts assembled in therelationship shown in Fig. 1 in which the cement dries.

Another form of head 21 is shown in Fig. 2. This head 21 is formed bycutting off a plurality of laminations 20' from a continuous strip 18having bristles 19 embedded therein, and cementing them together in sideby-side relation by means of a water-soluble cement such as thatpreviously described.

A third form of brush head 22 is shown in Fig. 3 wherein theside-by-side laminations 20" are formed by Winding continuous strip 18into a generally ovoid coil. Of course, a coating of water-solublecement may be applied to each fiat side of the continuous strip 18 before winding it to the shape shown in Fig. 3 to form a rigid head whenthe cement dries.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that strip material 18with embedded bristles 19 lends itself readily to mass production and istherefore very economical to manufacture since it can be formedcontinuously in an indefinite length. Simultaneously with or subsequentto production of strip material 18 with embedded bristles 19, pieces ofthe desired length can be cut off and formed into brush heads of any ofthe disclosed forms.

Bristles 19 may be coated with a dentifrice before or In this manner,the discarded material 18 (Fig. 7) of a suitable 3 during, butpreferably after formation of the brush head 17, 21 or 22, respectively.In this way the toothbrush can be marketed as a sterilized,self-contained unit sealed in a suitable container and ready for useWithout adjunct.

In use, the bristles 19 are dampened with water to moisten thedentifrice, and the teeth are brushed. Any water or moisture which comesinto contact with the toothbrush during brushing will not have adeleterious effect since the disintegrable materials and water-solublecement of which the toothbrush is formed require a suflicient period oftime to disintegrate and dissolve, respectively. After brushing, thetoothbrush may be discarded into a toilet. There the parts will becomewetted, and after a sufficient length of time the water-soluble cementwill dissolve and the remainder of the materials of which the toothbrushis formed, except for the bristles 19, will substantially disintegrate.The effect will be to loosen the bristles 19 from their respective headand leave a soggy mass which can be flushed down the drain withoutdanger of clogging.

I claim as my invention:

A disposable toothbrush comprising a handle formed of a material adaptedsubstantially to disintegrate upon being wetted and sufficientlysaturated with water, a brush head secured to said handle and comprisinga plurality of side-by-side laminations of strip material, said stripmaterial being adapted substantially to disintegrate upon being Wettedand sufficiently saturated with water,

a plurality of bristles embedded in said strip material and projectingoutwardly therefrom in the plane of the strip material, said bristlesbeing adapted to become loosened from said strip material when thetoothbrush becomes sufliciently saturated and thereby substantiallydisintegrated, wherein said handle has a generally U- shapedhead-receiving portion including two sides and an interconnectingbottom, and a shank portion formed with a longitudinally-extendingstiffener crease, said brush head being secured within the confines ofsaid U-shaped portion by means of a water-soluble cement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,259,571 Wiens Mar. 19, 1918 1,549,473 Fairbanks Aug. 11, 19251,611,640 Janus Dec. 21, 1926 1,739,324 Neissl Dec. 10, 1929 2,038,958Reach Apr. 28, 1936 2,092,438 Wilt Sept. 7, 1937 2,171,591 Minich Sept.5, 1939 2,265,102 Cressler Dec. 2, 1941 2,386,085 Babel Oct. 2, 19452,483,503 Pollack Oct. 4, 1949 2,548,255 Cressler Apr. 10, 1951-2,710,982 Gillem June 21, 1955 2,755,497 Greacen July 24, 1956

